The Lotus Evija nameplate will be worn by the Type 130 hypercar when we're given a sneak peek at Goodwood Festival of Speed
As Auto Express revealed exclusively in June, Lotus’ upcoming hypercar is called the Lotus Evija. The news broke after British sports car manufacturer filed to trademark the Evija name and now it’s been officially confirmed by the brand.
Currently known as the Type 130, the electric Evija hypercar will be revealed in some form at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed where we’re promised a sneak peek. The Lotus Evija will then be officially revealed two weeks after Goodwood on 16 July at a special event in London.
• Lotus Type 130 hypercar
The all-electric Type 130 will be Lotus’s first all-new model in over a decade and marks the firm’s rebirth under its new owner, the Chinese auto giant Geely. Other than its limited production run of just 130 units, little has been confirmed about the new model.
Speaking about the project, Lotus CEO Phil Popham told Auto Express: “Type 130 will be the most dynamically accomplished Lotus in our history. It marks a turning point for our brand as it is a showcase of what we are capable of, and what is to come for Lotus.”
Auto Express understands that Geely is giving Lotus the freedom to create its new hypercar. Its design is being led by Russell Carr, who has been at Hethel since 2010, while engineer Gavan Kershaw, who has over three decades of experience at Lotus, has been appointed ‘Director of Attributes’ to ensure that the new model carries enough of the Lotus DNA.
It’s likely that Type 130 will be the first Lotus to feature engineering developed with Williams. The two companies confirmed a “strategic technical partnership” back in January, saying they would research “advanced propulsion technologies” with an emphasis on fully electric powertrains.
Lotus’s partnership with Williams grants the British brand access to its own battery and electric motor systems, meaning it won’t have to borrow technology from other Geely brands, such as Polestar. Power is expected to be in the region of 1,000bhp.
Geely also recently confirmed that it has broken ground on a $1.3bn (£1bn) factory in Wuhan, China, that will make Lotus cars. It’s only Lotus’s second manufacturing site overseas and should start production of the brand’s lesser models by 2022. However, with a capacity of 150,000 cars a year, it’s unlikely to be exclusive to Lotus.
Much like Aston Martin’s “V-badged” cars (such as the Vantage, Vanquish and Virage), Lotus’s Evija nameplate follows the brand’s long lineage of “E-badged” range of vehicles. Since 1956, and the birth of the Lotus Eleven racer, the British manufacturer has issued its cars with ten names starting with the letter “E,” including Elite, Elan, Esprit, Evora and Exige.
What do you make of Lotus’s latest nameplate? Let us know in the comments section below…
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